Cattery Head

**Job Title**: Cattery Unit Manager (Liverpool)

**Location**: Freshfields Animal Rescue, Liverpool Centre

**Hours**:37.5 hrs per week Salary: £23,400 per annum; £12 per hour

**Reports to**: Operations Manager, Liverpool

**Job Purpose**: To support and organise the cattery unit staff and resources to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome cats in the most effective and efficient way possible. To develop, deliver and evaluate to Cattery Action Plan to progress Freshfields strategic Five-Year Plan.

**Key Activities: Staff Management**
- Lead and manage the work of the Unit staff, overseeing day-to-day operational activities.
- Ensure organisational procedures are followed to a high standard.
- Ensure that the staff understand and work to deliver the ethos, values, and principles of Freshfields Animal Rescue.
- Model positive leadership, compassion, professionalism, and integrity in every aspect of your work.
- Recruit, induct, train and support skilled cattery staff to ensure the team understands Freshfields requirements, and are able to consistently deliver them to a high standard.
- Facilitate and champion positive and productive two-way communication between senior management, staff, and volunteers.
- Foster and encourage an aspirational culture, with the confidence to adapt to change continually learn and improve.
- Ensure cattery staff understand and explain their work in wider context; the scale, external causes and the vital need to engage with the public, managers, fundraisers, and communications to create opportunities and find solutions.
- Ensure that cattery staff understand that cattery volunteers are donating their time and it is staffs’ responsibility to ensure they feel proud to have joined Freshfields and they feel they are making a positive difference.
- To facilitate team spirit and mutual respect within the unit and wider Freshfields team.
- Coordinate operational activities such as rotas, leave and training to meet daily needs in a way that is fair and sufficient.
- Prioritise and evaluate the work of cattery staff and volunteers, provide professional and personal support and training to each to meet the wider objectives set.

**Service Delivery**

Ensuring the effective and efficient daily management of the Unit, in accordance with Codes of practice and animal welfare legislation. This involves:

- Understanding the care quality standards of the Welfare Act 2006, and Association for Dogs and Cats Homes, ensure staff understand them and together meet or exceed these care and facility standards.
- Understand and ensure staff understand and deliver your obligations for the Health and Safety of staff, volunteers and visitors to the rescue.
- Ensure efficient and effective use of every resource, to include staff, volunteers, equipment and utilities.
- Ensure staff and volunteers are engaged in the unit Action Plan; monitor and record progress against agreed objectives.
- Provide excellent and effective rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming services.
- Work effectively and efficiently with all relevant colleagues, including veterinarians and contractors.
- Ensuring that treatments and medications are administered, and recorded, in the prescribed quantity at the specified intervals.
- Contribute to the production of Cattery Standard Operating Procedures; implementing processes to fully communicate and facilitate them.
- Ensure that the cattery staff and volunteers have the training and confidence to deliver excellence standard of care to all cats in our care.
- Clean, maintain and regularly inspect all areas and equipment within the facility, with early reporting of any defects or deficiencies found.
- Assisting with stock control of equipment, feeding and cleaning supplies.
- Ensure the facility is tidy, presentable, clean and secure.
- On-going assessment, in conjunction with other staff, of animals within the facility with respect to their health, welfare, general condition and suitability for rehoming. Highlight concerns relating to animals who are considered to require additional support or medical/veterinary attention.
- Effectively communicate and work with the on-site vet team. Ensure that all rescue and veterinary records are maintained in compliance with Government regulations.
- Maintaining a high standard of record-keeping, including admissions/rehoming figures/other statistics as directed
- Ensuring Freshfields Policy and Procedures are understood and adhered to by staff, volunteers, and the public within the facility at all times.
- Authorise expenditure and purchase orders within designated budget limits
- Ensure that comments and complaints are responded to appropriately and in a manner which reflects the principles and ethos of Freshfields Animal Rescue
- Collaborate with colleagues at the Freshfields Wales centre to share best practice and achieve shared goals.

**Organisational Responsibilities**

You will manage stakeholder relationships and develop and maintain links with ap